This is the class blog for Eng 1102 at GA Tech called "Fiction, Human Rights, and Social Responsibility." The purpose of this blog is to extend our discussion beyond the classroom and to become aware of human rights issues that exist in the world today and how technology has played a role in either solving or aggravating them. Blogs will be a paragraph long (250 words) and students will contribute once every three weeks according to class number. Entries must be posted by Friday midnight.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Palestine Issue

A few months ago, the UN voted for Palestine to be a
nonvoting observer state in the assembly. The assembly voted 138 in favor, 9
against and 41 nations were neutral. The move was strongly opposed by Israel
and the US that both said it was unfortunate and pushed back the peacekeeping
procedure.

The dispute between Israel and Palestine goes a long way
back when the Allies, after their win in the WWII, decided to give to the
suffering Jews some land in the Middle East. The area was claimed to be theirs,
by referring to the Old Testimony as the “Land of Opportunity”. They say their
ancestors moved there long before the area was conquered by many other
civilizations and eventually converted to Islam. After the land of Palestine
was parted in two countries, Israel and Palestine, the Israelis made a series
of wars with the Arabs and with the support of the USA conquered the rest of
the land. As a result the Palestine nation was no longer existent. The
Palestinians were given some land in the West Bank and Gaza and some autonomy
but it was considered to be still part of Israel. Even after the treaty of 1993
in Oslo where some solution of Palestinian authority was to be given, peace
never lasted for long.

This birth certificate of the State of Palestine, as it was
characterized by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, is believed to be the
basis for the relief of the Palestinians who have being suffering from Israel
in the last few decades. Now the Palestinians can accuse Israel of war crimes
against them and claim all the injustices that were made against them. Using
Hamas and a minority of extremists who live in Palestine as an excuse, Israel
made terrible things like firing against unarmed citizens. Every time an
Israeli soldier dies from a Palestinian, Israel answers back with full strength
against a weak and unarmed population, killing hundreds. So where is the
justice between two uneven nations? Israel is seeking revenge using aircrafts
against a fighting people that uses stones and flags to defend themselves. Even
Barrack Obama said: “Nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people”
followed of course by huge criticism from the conservative side of America and
the Jewish lobby. Let’s all hope this vote to be the beginning of peace between
the two countries, and the cease of violation of human rights against the
Palestinian people.